In The Shadows
by Strawberry Angel
Summary: Dedicated to Jordansgirl who asked me to write one. Caitie thinks someone is stalking her....


Disclaimer: I do not own the In A Heartbeat characters. I'm just writing stories,people. Don't sue  
ok? And this story is dedicated to Jordansgirl, who asked me to write horror. lol. If it isn't any  
good, it isn't dedicated to her anymore (lol). please review and read my other stories. Oh yeah,  
if any family members show up in this story, i made them up by myself! enjoy!  
  
  
  
  
  
In The Shadows  
  
Caitie lay on her bed. She was studing for a big algebra quiz next Thursday, only a week away. Life  
for Caitie Roth was going okay. Things with Jamie were weird. There was define chemistry between  
them, but nothing either had said really made things for sure. Caitie was actually pulling a C or  
better in every class and her home life was improving. She didn't fight with her brothers and  
sisters anymore. It was a large family. 6 kids all varying in ages. Not including Caitie  
there was Alissa 21; Shelly 19; Blake 17; Veronica 14; Robert 12; and Christopher 9. Caitie shared  
a room with Shelly and Veronica or Vikki as she liked to be called. Alissa moved out when she   
turned 20. All the kids had black hair and brown eyes, and looked alike. Caitie felt her family  
was starting to understand she would never be like Alissa or Shelly. Vikki was into writing plays  
and using big words. She had put blonde highlights in her jet black hair two weeks ago.  
It had begun to rain gently, light drops hitting the glass on her window. It would have been   
relaxing and quiet if it wasn't for Shelly playing her radio and Vikki playing her keyboard.   
Caitie rested her arms on the window sill and looked down to the streets. She saw someone standing  
in the shadows. She couldn't tell if it was a man or women. The person seemed to be looking  
straight at the window. It gave Caitie a very creepy feeling. She pulled the blinds down and rolled  
over.  
"What's your problem? You look totally creeped out." Shelly commented from her bed, painting her  
toenails Petal Purple.  
"Nothing. It looked like someone was down there, in the shadows." Caitie shivered as she pulled  
her knees up to her chest.  
"Oohhh, creepy. There is a poem about shadows. Ya know, Caitie, stranger things have happened  
around here." Vikki giggled from her seat at the small desk. She tucked a peice of short blonde  
hair behind her ear.   
"Shut up, Vikki. Sorry I get startled easily." Caitie replied with a bit of sarcasim.  
"It's okay with me." Vikki retorted tartly.  
"Stop fighting," came a call from the next room. Their mother walked in. "Caitie and Shelly, I  
want you girls to go to the store tomorrow afternoon. The list is on the fridge." Caitie and Shelly  
groaned in unison. The only reason Shelly had to go was because she could drive, and Caitie couldn't.  
  
At school the next day, Caitie walked with Val to 3rd period.   
"It was just really creepy, ya know? I mean, some person staring at me from the shadows. That  
spells out the perfect plot for a B-movie." Caitie sounded disgusted. Blake was into making  
movies and most of them involved slasher type scenes, but much cheeper.   
"Sounds like your paranoid." Val wanted to be honest with her friend. And it did sound like   
Caitie had watched too many of her brother's homemade movies.  
"Maybe I am." Caitie replied, a little angry. But she figured she was overreacting.   
  
At the store  
  
"Shelly, Mom asked for skim milk. This is whole!" Caitie ripped the milk away from Shelly. It was  
like she was purposefully mixing things up. Caitie marched quickly to the milk case, exchanging  
a whole milk for a skim carton. She looked up to see a figure, standing in the shadows of the   
next isle. It gave Caitie the same creeped out feeling. She turned and half ran back to Shelly.  
"I saw the same weirdo in the shadows!" Caitie cried. Shelly gave her a disgusted look.  
"I'm sure it wasn't the same person. Stop being weird." Shelly scolded. Caitie nodded slowly, then  
saw at the end of the isle the same person. She gripped Shelly's arm.  
"Look!" She whisperd loudly. "Creepy or what. It's the same guy I saw last night by the trees and  
the same guy by the milk! I wasn't paranoid." Shelly starred and shuddered.   
"Eww, you're right. That person is majorly scary. Let's split." She turned the shopping cart and  
pushed it quickly down the canned foods isle.   
Caitie was totally freaked out by that whole episode. She ran into the house, locking the door   
behind her. This whole thing was kinda scary. She didn't even want to look out the window. But  
she forced herself to and there on the lawn was a figure, shaded by the oak tree in the yard.  
Caitie screamed and the person waved, smiling the most evil smile Caitie had ever seen. She called  
to Shelly. Shelly ran and looked, her eyes wide with fear. Shelly shut the blinds, muttering,"Now  
you've got me seeing weirdos."   
"Now do you believe me?" Caitie shouted. Shelly nodded but then shook her head.   
"It was probably just a neighbor or something. Forget it. I'm going out with Andrew." Shelly  
waved as she bounced down the front steps. 'Weird,' Caitie thought, 'First she's scared to death  
and now she's acting like nothing happened.'  
Caitie fell onto her bed, turning on the Spanish rhythms of Selena, her kept-hidden CD. Someone  
knocked on her bedroom door, causing her to jump. Caitie shrieked.  
"Whoa, honey. Is something wrong?" Her mother asked, looking a little dressed up.  
"No!" Caitie said quickly then calmed down a little. "What's up?"  
"Me and your dad are going out to eat, okay?"   
"Sure. See ya!" Caitie called. A few minutes later, Vikki walked in, brushing her hair. She smiled  
in the mirror, looking satisfied with her appearence.  
"Where are you going?" Caitie asked nervously. She didn't want to be here all alone.  
"Denise invited me to go to the mall with Becky and her. Later." Vikki replied as a car horn  
beeped. Caitie shuddered. At least the two boys were still here. She was pretty sure Blake was   
out with his friends. The door creaked 10 minutes later,Robert and Christopher standing there.   
"Mike and Derek asked us to come over for dinner. Mom said we could go before she left." Robert  
stated.  
"O-okay. Where's Blake?" Caitie stuttered, her teeth practically chattering with fear.The boys  
shrugged and left. She was alone in a dark house with some weirdo roaming around showing up   
everywhere she was. Caitie began to wonder if he was out on the lawn right now, walking   
to the front door, turning the handle...Caitie stopped as she surpressed a scream.   
This was too much. She had to go somewhere. But then that person might  
be outside, ready to jump her or something. Caitie had to get someone over here, fast. She was  
too scared. She grabbed the phone and punched in the first number that came to mind.  
"Jamie!" Caitie shouted before the person on the other end even spoke.  
"Caitie? Is that you?" Jamie sounded really confused. He thought Caitie sounded a little weird too.  
"Can you come over?" Caitie prayed he could. She could just feel someone's eyes watching her every  
move.  
"Sure, when?"  
"Right now! Please!" Caitie pleaded, breathing hard. She heard something outside that sounded like  
crunching leaves.  
"Okay, are you alright?" Jamie knew something was wrong. He hoped it wasn't very serious.  
"Hurry."   
A few minutes later, the sound of a motorcycle going way over the speed limit filled the neighborhood.  
Jamie hoppped off his bike and half ran to the door. Caitie threw it open before he knocked.  
"Thank God! It took forever." Jamie noticed Caitie's eyes were scared, darting this way and that.  
"What's wrong?" Caitie filled Jamie in on the story, from the night before to the present. She  
hoped he would understand that it wasn't all in her head.  
"That's really weird Caitie. Maybe you should call the cops." Jamie suggested.  
"And tell them what?! 'Well I keep seeing someone outside and I think they might be following me.'  
Get real Jamie. But I'm so scared." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, the lights went  
off. Caitie shrieked.  
"Are the lights on at the neighors?" Jamie asked. Caitie didn't move so he looked out the window.  
The lights were definately on.  
"Oh my God...." Was all Caitie could answer. She looked really scared. The phone rang. She reached it,  
lifting the reciever to her ear.  
"Hi Caitie." An eerie voice said.  
"H-hi...who's this?" Caitie looked at Jamie, who picked up the other extension.  
"You've been seeing my for the last day or so. Outside, at the store, on your lawn." Said the voice.  
Caitie started to breath heavily, trying not to hyperventilate.  
"Who are you?" Caitie screamed, tears flowing openly down her face.  
"You don't know me. I've seen your picture in the newspaper. I figured out where you lived and  
have been dying to meet you." The voice sounded so evil and so possessed Caitie couldn't believe  
it was human.  
"When was I in the paper?"   
"A few months ago. It was an article on your school. You were in a picture along with your name."  
"So, why can't you just talk to me like a normal person?" Caitie cried, starring at Jamie, who  
looked almost as scared.  
"Because all through high school, people made fun of me. I knew you would never love me like I   
love you." The voice sounded sad, and evil too. Still evil.  
"How can you love me? You've only seen one picture, that probably wasn't a very good one." Caitie  
asked, feeling so scared and so confused.  
"You don't believe in love at first sight?" The voice asked. Caitie looked at Jamie. She loved  
Jamie from the moment she saw him.   
"No. Not if you've never seen the person for real. Like just a picture doesn't count."  
"Well, I do. And now I can have you for all mine." Caitie's eyes got very wide.  
"What do you mean?"   
"You're all alone, no one to save you from me." Caitie was shaken very badly at that point.  
"I have neighbors and I'm not here alone." Caitie replied.  
"You're not?" The voice actually sounded a little confused.  
"No, my friend, the wrestler, is here." She lied.  
"Well, I guess I'll just have to kill him before I kill you." Jamie looked so scared. He hoped  
he could do a good job of protecting Caitie, before he died that is.  
"Kill me? I thought you loved me." Caitie exclaimed.  
"I can't let anyone else have you." The voice explained.  
"Where are you?"   
"Look outside." Was the simple reply. Caitie crawled and looked out the window above the couch. Out,  
standing across the street at the corner, on a payphone was the man. Caitie shrieked, screaming,  
"Jamie, he's at the corner! He's outside!" Caitie began crying, bawling actually. Jamie jumped  
up and looked.   
Just then, the man began moving towards the house. He'd hung up the phone. Caitie noticed he  
walked kind of funny. But at that moment, it didn't matter. She screamed and screamed, praying   
out loud, hoping for a miracle. He was walking up the drive way when a car pulled up. Shelly and  
her boyfriend Andrew jumped out of the car. Andrew asked who this guy was. The man took off running,  
but couldn't run very well so Andrew tackled him. Caitie and Jamie ran outside.  
Caitie starred at the man. Shelly screamed.  
"Oh my gosh! I remember him! He was in my class in P.E. He was in the special class...and everyone  
made fun of him. Keith, right?" Shelly explained. The man nodded. Jamie called the cops and Caitie's  
parents had a restraining order against Keith.   
A few weeks later, Caitie was feeling normal again. Keith's parents apologize and sent him to  
a special school in New York. Caitie was thankful Shelly had shown up at the right time and that  
everything turned out for the best. She knew she would never be the same. Caitie and Jamie  
never really told anyone about that scary night. Caitie was changed forever.  



End file.
